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c. A. BOWEN. Acoustic Watch.

Patented Nov. 16, I880.

N.FETERS, PHOTO-L THOGRAFH UNITED STATES PATENT OEFTcE.

GEORGE A. BOWEN, OF NEW YORK, ASSIGNOR TO HIMSELF AND PURDY B. HOYT, OF BROOKLYN, N. Y.

ACOUSTIC WATCH.

SPECIFICATION forming part of Letters Patent No. 234,455, dated November 16, 1880. Application filed April 26, 1880. (N model.)

To all whom it may concern:

Be it knownthat I, GEORGE A. BOWEN, of the city and State of New York, have invented an Improvement in Acoustic Watches, ofwhich the following is a specification.

IVatches have before been made in which the time has been indicated by sound, when the position of the hands could not be seen in consequence of the darkness but these devices have been complicated and expensive.

My invention is made for the purpose of simplifying the construction, lessening the cost, and rendering the parts more durable, and the said parts can usually be introduced between the watch-plate and the face, so as not to materially increase the thickness of the watch.

In the drawings, Figure 1 is a plan of the acoustic mechanism, about three times the usual dimensions; and Fig. 2 shows part of the edge of the case and the push-button.

The watch-movement is of any desired kind, and the cannonpinion a receives the minutehand, and it is geared to the hour-hand in the usual manner. Upon the cannon-pinion there is a snail, I), having twelve ofl'sets or steps, each occupying thirty degrees, and being arcs of circles, and the rise or distance radially from one are to the next is equal throughout the snail.

c is a push-rack that is either straight or curved, and the rack-teeth on one edge correspond to the distance between the arcs of the snail.

The bottom of push-piece cl is held by a 3 5 screw, 1, that passes through a slot in the stem of the push-button and enters the plate f of the watch.- The stem is continued in theform of a spring-pawl, e, that is adapted to take the teeth of the rack c and move the same, 40 and g is a spring-pawl to hold the rack. h is a spring to throw the push-button out again, and i is a liberating stud that draws back the pawl from the rack-tooth each movement of the push-button, so that the pawl will only 5 move the rack one tooth at a time.

It will now be understood that the snail is to be located so that when the minute-hand has moved to I on the dial the push-button can be pushed in one notch before the end of the push-rack strikes the snail, and two pushes for H, six pushes for VI, 830.; hence the time in minutes will be denoted by multiplying the number of pushes by five.

The push-rack may be either straight or curved. I have shown the rack c as straight. 5 There is a spring, I, that draws the push-rack back when the same is liberated from the pawl g. I prefer to make the pawl with a spring tail passing into a notched cross-picce, 4, on the push-button stem, so that by swinging the push-button laterally both pawls c and 9 will be moved away from the rack to allow it to fly back.

In order to tell the hours, I use a second snail, n, with twelve offsets like the snail Z). There is a star-wheel, m, that is connected with this snail, and a pin, 6, on the cannon-pinion moves this star one tooth each hour. The spring-pawl 0 holds the star.

The push-rack q, spring 1', and holding-pawl s are similar to those before described, and the second pawl-tooth t upon the spring of the push-button operates the rack q.

It is to be understood that the hour can be struck up to the fifty-five minutes-for instance, the hour of twelve can be struck and the minutes indicated up to fifty-five minutes; then the snails moving bring the longest portions adjacent to the push-slides, and then at one oclock the hour can be struck; but the minutes cannot be struck until the minute hand has passed the five minutes; then one can be struck on the minute-snail, and so on.

It is to be understood that the push-button is to be moved so that its pawl comesinto con- 8 5 tact with first one push-rack and then the other, and that by the sense of feeling or that of hearing the number ofpushes can be counted, as the pawls make a clicking sound.

If preferred, a spring tongue or reed, 12, may 0 be moved by the lever 10, as the push-button and its spring h are operated, so as to give a musical tone each time the push-button is operated.

In Fig. 2 the shape of the edge of the case 5 at the push-button is shown, there being depressions at the extremes of lateral movement, so that the push-button is free at those places to slide endwise, and when in the intermediate position, with the parts out of action, the

shank of the push-button will rest upon the higher intermediate portion of the edge of the case.

I have shown the push-racks as slotted and moving on guide-blocks. It will, however, be evident that these push-racks maybe segments of wheels swinging on centers.

Two push-buttons can be used in place of one, if desired; but by my arrangement one push-button is made to operate the acoustic device for both the hour and minute signals.

I claim as my invention 1. The combination, with the push-button and its spring-pawl, of the push-rack, the snail, the holdingpawl, with a spring-tail, and a 

